INFLUENCE OF CONDITIONED MEDIA IN CARTILAGE-LIKE TISSUE PRODUCTION IN CO-CULTURES OF ARTICULAR CHONDROCYTES AND WHARTON'S JELLY-DERIVED STEM CELLS

Influence of conditioned media in cartilage-like tissue production in co-cultures of articular chondrocytes and Wharton Jelly derived stem cells

M.L. Alves da Silva^1,2, A.R. Costa-Pinto^1,2, V.M. Correlo^1,2, P. Sol^1,2, M. Bhattacharya³, S. Faria⁴, R.L. Reis^1,2, N.M. Neves^1,2

¹3B´s Research Group – Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra, S. Claudio do Barco, 4806-909 Caldas das Taipas, Guimarães, Portugal

² IBB – Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, PT Associated Laboratory, Guimarães, Portugal

³Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA

⁴CMAT – Mathematical Research Centre, Department of Mathematics and Applications, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal

Aim:

Soluble factors released by chondrocytes have been shown to influence stem cells differentiation onto the chondrogenic lineage. The use of conditioned medium obtained from chondrocytes for stimulating stem cells chondrogenic differentiation may be a very interesting alternative for the clinical application of these cells. Therefore, we tested the influence of conditioned medium obtained from articular chondrocytes cultures to determine its influence on co-cultures of human Wharton´s jelly MSCs (hWJSCs).

Method:

In the present work, direct and indirect co-cultures (using conditioned medium obtained from a culture of human articular chondrocytes) with hWJSCs were established. Cells were isolated from human samples collected at the local hospital, under donors’ informed consent. The co-cultures were performed in 3D scaffolds, composed by a blend of 50/50 chitosan and poly (butylene succinate) – CPBS. Co-cultures were maintained during 28 days.

Results:

Wharton jelly MSCs were able to undergo chondrogenic differentiation. By the end of the experiment co-cultures showed glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) accumulation and specific cartilage-related genes expression, for both types of co-cultures. Indirect co-cultures results show that the chondrogenic differentiation and cartilage ECM formation is enhanced compared to the direct ones.

Conclusions:

The use of conditioned medium obtained from articular chondrocytes induced WJSCs chondrogenic differentiation and ECM formation. The obtained results showed that this new strategy is very interesting and should be further explored for clinical applications.